Voor Los Olivos Possibly 1908

This print of Los Olivos by Geldolph Adriaan Kessler looks like it was made with the gelatin silver process. It's like a dance with light, this piece, isn't it? You can almost feel Kessler feeling his way around the subject. I love how the texture is so pronounced, especially in the building and street. It's palpable. It's so easy to imagine Kessler in the darkroom, coaxing these tones out of the paper. See the detail on the veranda? It almost trembles with life, a testament to the enduring vitality of image-making. It reminds me a little of Eugene Atget, in the way it captures a sense of place, but with a rawness that is totally Kessler. It's about seeing, and feeling, and trusting the journey.